My experience with automotive training

There is a huge debate as to whether automotive sales training is valuable to dealerships and if it is worth the money. In 2007 I was new to the auto industry and my first job was working at a small Chevy dealership's BDC dept.

I had no knowledge of vehicles CRM's, internet processes, or telemarketing; I wonder to this day how I got the job! The department was very small and consisted of myself and 2 others. Training was obsolete and I was "thrown to the wolves".

Not only did I teach myself the CRM in the matter of hours , I also started making calls and getting customers in within days. After two months I was top salesperson in my BDC and even got a raise, but I still wanted more.

I knew at that point the automotive industry was for me and sought out a better opportunity at a Lexus dealership newly founding BDC. With only 5 months experience going in it was a drastic environment change. I was no longer calling 1800 Credit leads, but had customers wanting to know pricing and ins and outs of the vehicle they were going to purchase.

The Lexus dealership I was at hired a sales/BDC/Service trainer. He would come in on a monthly basis and train myself and the other BDC employees on how to take incoming calls, handle outgoing calls, and gave us a script of rebuttals. I feel as though this not only helped give me a foundation to help customers more efficiently, but also helped settle the fears I had about calling them.

I believe with proper training anyone can succeed, and that is the problem with many dealerships. I find people time and time again are thrown into the internet department without knowledge of what to do and are expected to perform as if they've been doing this for years. I believe training never stops! We are always learning different processes, different ways to communicate with customer, and different ways to send emails that are effective.

I am not saying that a outside trainer has to come in for a dealership to be effective, but the person who is training needs to know what they are talking about and have been effective.

Oops... You need to stop "Lurking" on ADM and become a more genuine Automotive Professional by completing your membership registration. As a registered ADM Member, you can post comments, publish your own articles (be a star!) and start Forum discussions. Stop being an online "Peeping Tom" and JOIN ADM RIGHT NOW!

AJ- Very true. And that not only is true in the Auto Industry, but any business your in. Who would have thought social media would be such a huge influence? I never would have first starting out in the industry! I just wonder what its going to be like 5 years from now!

Welcome toAutomotive Digital Marketing ProCom
Please use the "Sign Up" link above to complete your registration form and become a member of the industry's leading Automotive Marketing and Internet Sales Professional Community. ADM members have access to resources, connections and private events that provide them with a competitive advantage.